By Gwen Luga
Focusing on pregnancy and motherhood through the horror genre with a royal twist, Halsey debuts her newest film experience on IMAX, “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power” with an album of the same name.
Known for her immersive visuals and collaborating with director Colin Tilley who she has previously worked with on music videos “Without Me” and “You Should Be Sad”, and produced by Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the film follows the story of a young pregnant queen who wrestles with a royal and terrible chokehold to finally discover her own supernatural power from childbirth.
“This film is about the lifelong social labyrinth of sexuality and birth,” read the trailer’s opening line. “The greatest horror stories never told were buried with the bodies of those who died in that labyrinth.”
Reminiscent of the paintings of religious icons in complementary attire from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the cover art of IICHLIWP features from a giant canvas, Halsey, with a crown on her head, seated on a throne, topless and holding a child.
Revealing her inspiration of ‘Madonna and Whore’ for the album cover, the Grammy- nominee pop singer divulged more details about the album, writing in an Instagram post:
“If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power: This album is a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth. It was very important to me that the cover art conveyed the sentiment of my journey over the past few months. The dichotomy of the Madonna and the Whore. The idea that me as a sexual being and my body as a vessel and gift to my child are two concepts that can co-exist peacefully and powerfully. My body has belonged to the world in many different ways the past few years, and this image is my means of reclaiming my autonomy and establishing my pride and strength as a life force for my human being.”
“This cover image celebrates pregnant and postpartum bodies as something beautiful, to be admired. We have a long way to go with eradicating the social stigma around bodies & breastfeeding. I hope this can be a step in the right direction!”
Tickets for the film go on sale on August 3 and goes live on August 25, while the album drops on August 27 via Capitol Records.
